Two Years And A Day
by EigoNoMonoe
Summary: "There are types of poisons that blind you, and there are types of poisons that opens your eyes. I believe I have downed both." [Natsu X Reader Insert]
1. Chapter 1

The lone male in the small room sighed before reluctantly sitting down in is seat. He rubbed his eyes, slowly becoming ever so distant with the world. He pulled his chair closer to the thin cloth of no color in front of him, and rested his against his arms. Within a few minutes, he could feel his consciousness drifting further and further away from reality. He allowed the land of darkness and memories to consume him.

It was an average day for Fairy Tail; the almost daily fight, the mages walking in and out from jobs, the light smell of booze lingering in the air, and the shouting. One could never forget the voices once they were heard.  
Sitting at the bar as usual, Team Natsu and Mira were having a discussion about their most recent job they took. Lucy, however, looked quite frightened to hear Erza's scolding that was destined to be directed at her. She never did give herself enough credit. Gray and Natsu were terrified to hear from the S-Class mage, thus they were acting as kindly to each other as they could get. Happy was acting, well, Happy-like. The ordinary from him. Mira could only stand back and watch the thick tension unravel before her.  
"Natsu!" The scarlet woman ordered.  
He stood and saluted on impulse. "Yes ma'am!" He answered, almost like it was programmed into his brain.  
"You need to think things through and plan ahead! Only then do you attack!" She commanded. Then turned to Gray. "You! Stop stripping in the middle of an attack! It may work as a type of distraction for the enemy, but it also backfires on your teammates as well!"  
She turned to Lucy, and the blonde cringed, waiting for all hell to break loose. Erza sighed and turned away.  
"Why me?! Say something!" She shouted to the scarlet woman, not wanting a response.  
"My, oh my, guess who's back from their job?" Mira sweetly interrupted, attempting to cut through the high tension between the team. When the four, plus Happy, gave her a slightly confused look, she directed their attention a familiar figure walking towards them.  
"Ah, Cyri! I see you're back from your job, did it go well?" Erza asked, making small talk with the younger girl.  
Her light voice answered, "Yep, I didn't take a difficult one, so I was able to complete it without too much of a hassle. My employer didn't seem to like how long it took, though. Only two and a half days, and for someone with magic like mine, it's difficult to do solo tasks quickly." He pupil-less lavender eyes drifted to the floor, ashamed with herself.  
"Nonsense," Gray began to cheer her up. "You have a very unique and special type of magic; he should've been grateful for your help!" He put his hands on her shoulders, brushing away some of her loose white strands of hair.  
"I agree; although you may not be very good with long range or head-on combat, you do have a very unique ability." Erza approved of his statement, nodding her head.  
Lucy didn't know how to take the situation; she hadn't been with the guild for long, and each time she saw Cyri, it was when the pale girl was reporting a completed job and then only to run off with another one. She had only seen Cyri's magic twice, and even then it was a blur. Literally. It was almost as if Lucy couldn't even see Cyri, due to her speed of attacks. Definitely not suited for solo missions, in her opinion. Plus, she simply didn't know Cyri all that well. Sure, they've conversed before, but Lucy wouldn't consider them as close friends.  
Cyri looked back up at them in the eye. "R-Really? Thank you so much, all of you...! It's always so wonderful to have people like you as my friends!" She smiled and giggled softly, before directing her attention over to the unusually quiet Natsu. "N-Natsu-san? Can I talk to you for a moment?" She whispered, only just loud enough for him to hear.  
"Huh? Oh, sure Cyri." He began to follow her, only to call out to his team over his shoulder. "Be back in a sec!" As soon as they exited the guild's interior, he turned to the shorter figure in front of him that was having a very difficult time speaking. "Yo, Cyri? Are you okay? You don't look so well..." He leaned down a few inches to examine her face at a closer range.  
Her face immediately heated up at his sudden action. "A-Ah, no, I-I...um, I wanted to ask you, um..." She drifted off, took a big gulp of air and continued, deciding to suck it up. "I-I wanted to ask you if you wanted to do something with me someday..." Her voice grew softer. "Like a, um..." Softer. "...a date?"  
She came to the conclusion that it was ridiculous to even ask him, and that she probably looked like a fool. Yanking on her average length hair, she covered her face. "No, no! I'm sorry I even asked, i-it was so stupid of me...! I'm so sorry I wasted your time, Natsu-san...!"  
He gave her a blank stare, feeling his face slowly heat up. He could hear his own heartbeat grow faster, and wondered if she could hear it too. Then he grinned and pat her on the head. "Of course, Cyri! Honestly, I've been wondering about it myself as well; why I seem to grow silent, or why I feel like everyone can hear the beating of my heart whenever I'm around you. Eventually I came to the conclusion, I had to have at least crushed on you for quite some time. I feel like it's more than that, but I'm not too sure..." He gripped her hand and she looked up to his face. "But for the time being, help me figure it out, alright?"  
"O-Okay... I think?" She didn't think he would actually agree, hence why she was in shock and couldn't reply to the best of her ability.  
"I'm sure everyone's wondering what happened to us, so let's go back inside and tell them about us!" With their hands still intertwined, he dragged Cyri back through the doors to the guild. As soon as they stepped inside, all eyes were on them, and Cyri felt her face flush once again. Natsu, of course, was oblivious to the attention directed at him.  
"What a man! Natsu finally noticed huh? That is a true man!" Elfman was heard across the room, throwing his arms up into the air with energy.  
"Hey, what does he mean by 'finally?'" Natsu asked, turning to the red female behind him.  
"Learn to read the atmosphere, ash-head!" Gray called out, it being obvious that Natsu was the only one that didn't notice Cyri's feelings towards the days prior.  
"What was that, icicle-breath?!" He released her hand an charged Gray. Sparks seemed to crackle between them as they argued back and forth. Everyone in the guild knew where this situation would be headed, thus they prepared themselves to brawl each other.  
The forgotten Cyri inched around the arguing morons and back to the smarter portion of the guild; Lucy, Erza, and Mira. Erza decided to tease her a little.  
"So I see you finally decided to ask him, huh?" She chuckled before continuing. "The entire guild was beginning to sick of waiting, we were even thinking of forcing you two together."  
If possible, even more color rushed to Cyri's face. "W-Was it really that obvious?! Oh my god, I messed up; I messed up horribly. If I can't even keep a secret like that, then I might as give up trying to be a mage." She nearly had tears overflowing from her eyes, and she slouched to the ground.  
"Erza...!" Lucy protested, not catching on.  
"No need to worry Lucy," Mira intervened, explaining why everything was alright. "Cyri is the easiest to mess with in the guild, so she normally gets picked on like this. This is normal for her. She'll be fine in a few minutes." The older female looked down to the overreacting Cyri on the floor, whom was currently banging her head against one of the stool's legs.  
The ongoing brawl around them began to contain flying tables, mugs, and now even some of the members. Makarov gave up trying to control his children long ago, back when he was still in his youth. Now, he only yelled "Damn brats!" every once in a while. One particular, fire-breathing mage was coincidentally flung right onto the female on the floor, knocking them both out cold.  
Before Natsu completely met darkness, he swore he saw the old man smile at the new couple on the ground below. Then, just like his new partner, he met darkness.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning, Alyx's consciousness was revived by the smell of food. She rubbed her eyes and hopped out of bed, walking into the other room. Wendy and Carla were already awake and were making a simple breakfast; scrambled eggs and toast.  
"A-Ah! Alyx-san, you're awake!" Wendy greeted with a smile, still in her pajamas as well. "You woke up at the perfect time, the breakfast is almost done." She pulled out some orange juice from the fridge and poured it into three glasses, one smaller than the others. "Can you take these to the table?"  
"O-Oh, right..." Alyx closed her eyes and grabbed two the glasses, gently placing them on the table next to their respective plate. When she brought the smaller one over, Wendy had begun placing the eggs and toast onto the plates. "Thank you for the meal, Wendy, Carla."  
"You should have helped make it, we don't need a freeloader to stay with us." Carla uttered, obviously not happy that Wendy had let a complete stranger live with them.  
"Carla...! Be nice, this is the first day for her, go easy on her please." Wendy reasoned, trying to stick up for Alyx. The little girl gestured to Alyx's closed eyes. "Besides, she's obviously still tired. She must have traveled a long way to get to Magnolia."  
"...No, I should have helped, I am sorry." Alyx glanced down, reluctantly opened her eyes. "I promise I won't live off of you guys, I'll do my best to help out and pay for the rent." She apologized, finishing her breakfast, just after Wendy and Carla.  
They scrubbed the plates and glasses before placing them in the dishwasher to clean later in the day. After, they sat down on the sofa, because it was still early in the morning. Deciding to kill some time before heading out to the guild, they began to officially introduce themselves.  
"So, my name is Wendy Marvell, and this is my partner Carla." Wendy gestured to herself and her partner sitting next to her.  
"She already knew that Wendy, there's no need to repeat yourself." Carla criticized the little girl. Alyx didn't how they could get along, but they did.  
"...I am Alyx Harmon, as you already know." She introduced herself again. "I have never been in a guild before, so this is all a new experience for me."  
"What kind of magic do you use?" Wendy beamed, wondering if she could potentially have another partner.  
"Um, I use speed magic. It isn't that impressive, nor does it go well in battle, but it can be useful when the time comes." She shut her eyes again and clasped her hands together.  
"That sounds dreadful, but it could be important." Carla scoffed, not understanding why Wendy was admiring her.  
Wendy ignored Carla's comment and continued. "Speed magic? That sounds really interesting! I would love to see it sometime!" She volunteered. "I use Sky Dragon Slaying magic, so I'm not very powerful either. It's mostly for healing and assisting in battle." She giggled.  
Alyx made a small noise before staring at Wendy, her eyes wide. "...You are a dragon...slayer?" She didn't believe it one bit. It was too rare of a chance to have met one right before her eyes!  
"Yep! So are Natsu and Gajeel, fire and iron. It's odd having three in one guild, huh?" She giggled again, and Carla sighed at how open she was, again.  
"...Right, it truly is a strange find..." She whispered, glancing to her clasped hands. "Perhaps we should get dressed so we can head to the guild?" Alyx changed the subject, a topic on dragon slayers made her uncomfortable.  
"Of course, I'll be out in a second and then we can go." Wendy said, before walking back into her room and shutting the door behind her.  
Alyx followed suit and sat on her bed. She sighed, not knowing how to feel about her situation, Pushing her thoughts aside, she tied her light blue messy hair back in a low ponytail, and put on her average outfit; a dark blue sweatshirt that had a white pause button it, a black, diagonal cut skirt that reaches to her upper calf that showed her emblem, black tights that she keeps pushed down, and light blue sneakers. As soon as she was ready and sure that she had everything on correctly, she mentally prepared herself for the day before walking back into the living room. A few seconds later Wendy exited as well.  
"Alright, let's head out, Carla, Alyx-san!" She exclaimed, and the two followed her out the door. "Do you two want to go on a job today so we don't simply stay at the guild all day?" Wendy asked turning around to face the two, a light smile on her face.  
"I suppose it would be a good idea, plus it would be Alyx's first job. She could learn from the others as well." Carla noted, obviously not caring if she offended Alyx or not. They both faced the older female, silently asking for her opinion.  
"...Alright, but I may not be able to go on an overly difficult one." She stated in response, closing her eyes as they resumed walking.  
"If you think you're so weak, then get someone to train with you. Don't hold us back." Carla ordered, in which she received a light scolding from Wendy.  
"Carla...! I'm sure she's stronger than I am; I'm the one who needs the help, not her!" Wendy attempted to stop Carla's abusive statements, but they didn't really faze Alyx much.  
Alyx shrugged her shoulders in response, opening her eyes once again as they neared the guild. "I am sure I need to train more, so it does not faze me, Wendy-san." She pushed the doors open.  
Oddly enough, it was peaceful, even with Natsu there. Wendy was surprised, but nevertheless lead Alyx to her group of friends; Natsu, Happy, Gray, Lucy, and Erza. Natsu was the only one not talking, as he had his head resting on the table. Most likely sleep deprived. However, as soon as the three sat down, his head shot up and stared at the newbie.  
"Alyx, right?" He guessed, after he had stared at her long enough. This broke the other's conversation, wondering what he would do. Alyx pulled her hood up to cover her face, not liking how she could feel everyone's stares on her.  
"So you remember her name but not mine?!" Lucy screeched, angry that he always called her Luigi. Natsu and Alyx ignored her outburst and she nodded in response.  
Natsu observed her more, before shouting at the top of his lungs. "Fight me!" He jumped up the table, little flames dancing across his eyes. Alyx stared at him with a blank expression.  
"No."  
"Why not?!" He shouted, crouching down so he was in her face. "I told you to fight me!"  
"I don not have magic that is good for combat, nor is it very strong. I will not fight you." She calmly replied, not wanting to draw any attention from the guild.  
The next the she knew, Alyx was slammed into Erza's armor. "It's alright, Alyx! I am sure you can beat him to a pulp, anyone can! I have my faith in you!" She wailed, very emotional tears streaming down her face. Gray and Lucy looked sorry for her, but also glad that they weren't in Alyx's place. "If you wish, I will help you grow stronger! You will never lose to another being as long as I still exist!"  
Alyx was horrified. Since Erza was encouraging her to fight in her own language, she basically had no choice to agree. "A-Alright..." Erza released Alyx and the two walked into an open part of the guild. By now, most of the guild members were watching, curious as to what type of magic Alyx would pull out.  
"Yahoo! Let's fight!" Flames surrounded Natsu's hands, and he charged at her. "Fire Dragon's Iron Fist" He shouted, sprinting towards the calm girl. Her expression told everyone that being nervous was the least of her troubles.  
"Kick his ass, Alyx!" Gray shouted, obviously not wanting to cheer for Natsu.  
When Natsu was about to strike her, his vision blurred and there was a sharp ringing in his ears. The fire dissipated as he clutched his head, attempting to regain his vision. Alyx suddenly appeared behind him within a split second. She pulled out a metal fan from her sweatshirt pocket and prepared to strike.  
Sensing something wrong, Natsu turned around and rolled out of the way. The fan struck the floor, causing some wood to fly up. He forced his hands to light up with fire yet again, ignoring his vision.  
As Natsu shakily began to rise to his feet, Alyx sighed, becoming bored. "I'm tired of this now." She muttered, and shut her eyes. "Perhaps I should wrap this up...?" She asked to no one in particular.  
Natsu charged at her, and jumped above her, hoping to get some type of an aerial shot. Once again, she disappeared, the ringing in his ears returned along with his blurry vision. Alyx appeared behind him, and swiftly kicked in the back with her heel.  
The pink-haired male collapsed onto the ground and Alyx walked away from him, and returned to the group and sat down once more. She knew Natsu would be fine, he was yesterday, after all. He had gotten beaten to a pulp and was somehow still had enough energy to move around.  
"I-I thought you said you weren't very strong?!" Lucy sputtered, amazed at how quickly Alyx had dealt with Natsu.  
"I would like to hear your reasoning behind this as well." Erza nodded in agreement, slightly surprised at how much strength Alyx hid from them.  
"S-Same here, if it's alright with you, Alyx-san..." Wendy whispered.  
"Hey, you beat him up, so I'm happy." Gray stated, and leaned back against the chair and placed his hands behind his head.  
"I said my magic was not well suited for combat nor battle, did I not? I never stated that I didn't know how to use that to my advantage." Alyx stated, taking a sip of Natsu drink that she decided to steal from him.  
"Th-That may be true, but you said you weren't very strong...!" Lucy noted, something odd was going on here.  
"I do not like reckless and unnecessary violence, even if it is for sport." She placed the drink back onto the table. Her next words shocked any and every guild member that heard them. "Even more so, with Wendy being the only exception so far, I despise Dragon Slayers greatly."  
Everyone's eyes snapped wide.  
Hating Dragon Slayers? Why? Did she have something against them, or was it simply hatred?  
"I understand what you are thinking. 'Why does she hate them?' Well, it is not an easy topic for me to bring up, but I can try." By now, Natsu had regained consciousness and returned to the group. He must have overheard, because he did not have a pleasant look on his face. Alyx didn't notice his change of expression.  
"If it's too difficult, then you don't have to. But if you can, then please, go on." Erza urged. Before Alyx could continue, another voice made its appearance behind them. All but the light haired female were surprised.  
"If I may join, then I would also like to know why you hate Dragon Slayers. We do have three of them here in the guild, after all." The master stated. All heads in the group turned to the mysterious girl.  
"I cannot remember how long ago it was yet it was very recently, but I had run into a few Dragon Slayers. I'm sure all but one are now dead, though. However, that one that may still remain, he...he..." Alyx began shaking and held her head in her hands, not wanting to continue.  
She felt a hand on her back, desperately trying to comfort her. Alyx glanced out from in between her fingers, seeing that it was Wendy, whom had a concerned look on her face. "You don't have to continue if it hurts that much, Alyx-san..." The older female shook her head.  
"No, you deserve to know this, for treating me so kindly..." She drifted off, regained her composure, and continued. "I will never forgive him for what he did... That man was blinded by power, only craving more. Thanks to him, I do not have anything left to live for. The only other being I had in my life...was murdered by that Dragon Slayer's hands... He killed my father..."  
No one truly knew how to respond to this. They were afraid that if they tried to comfort the newest member of their family, they would get rejected and would hurt her any more than she already was.  
Alyx had resumed shaking, remembering the bloody sight before her eyes. She stared at the table horrified.  
The master was the first one to speak up. "I truly am sorry to hear that, honestly, but you mustn't take it out on the innocent Dragon Slayers here. Besides, we cannot replace your father, but you do have a new family here, the members of Fairy Tail." He explained, choosing his words carefully as to not trigger the girl more than she already was.  
"...I know, I should not blame the Dragon Slayers here, but I cannot help but feel wary. It is a habit, but I will try to break it." She muttered in response, this was her way of saying 'Thank you.' The master simply nodded in return and walked back to the bar to resume his drinking.  
"I... I don't know what to say, other than I'm sorry to hear that, Alyx." Lucy said, staring into her drink to avoid any awkward eye contact.  
"Please, don't feel pity for me. I do thank you, however, and I will try to open up to the Dragon Slayers here as well. Please forgive me." Alyx muttered out, before bowing to the group and heading over to job board to see if there was anything interesting to choose from.


End file.
